Amidst Corona lockdown, Doctor and Nurse get married in the hospital they work
London: A nurse and doctor who had to cancel their wedding due to the coronavirus outbreak have got married at the hospital where they work.
Jann Tipping, 34, and Annalan Navaratnam, 30, tied the knot in the Grade II listed chapel at London's St Thomas' Hospital.
Guests were able to enjoy their special day remotely as one of the witnesses live-streamed the service.
The couple said they decided to hold it "while everyone was still healthy".
Ms Tipping and Mr Navaratnam had cancelled their original plans to wed in August because they feared their families would not be able to travel safely from Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka for the day.
Instead, the couple, from Tulse Hill in south London, decided to bring the wedding forward and got a special go-ahead for a private wedding ceremony.
Ms Tipping, an ambulatory emergency nurse, said they "wanted to make sure we could celebrate while we were all still able to even if it meant our loved ones having to watch us on a screen".
She described the wedding on 24 April as "intimate" and "lovely", but added it felt "surreal" getting married where they both work.
Mr Navaratnam, an acute medical registrar who has been working at St Thomas' for a year, said they were "so happy that we have been able to commit ourselves to one another".
A virtual drinks reception, including a first dance and speeches, was hosted by the newlyweds.
Reverend Mia Hilborn, who held the service, said she was "thrilled to be part of it".
After hearing about the wedding, Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: "This is lovely."
SOURCE: BBC.com
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India never offers any duty concessions in dairy sector under FTAs: Goyal
New Delhi (PTI): India has not offered any duty concessions in the dairy sector under any of its free trade agreements so far, including those with the European Union, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday.
He said India's dairy sector is driven by very small and marginal farmers with limited landholdings who own only a few cattle.
These farmers has a "very" low production and needs to be protected against large farms that Europe, America, Australia, or New Zealand have.
"India has had a very consistent stand in all our FTAs across the world, whether it is European Union, Switzerland... UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand. Never has India opened the dairy sector. Everybody in this room knows it. Everybody in the world knows it," he told reporters here after signing a trade pact with New Zealand.
This is a known position, and there is nothing new in this, he said.
However, he added that as per India's foreign trade policy, the government allows foreign firms to bring raw materials or ingredients into India, process them to make high-quality products and then re-export 100 per cent of those goods.
That product is not allowed to be sold in the country, he said.
"So it doesn't hurt the Indian market, doesn't hurt the Indian farmers, but adds to our foreign exchange income, adds jobs to our youth, provides opportunities for our farmers also to possibly supplement for further re-export. So it's a win-win for both countries," Goyal said.
The India-New Zealand trade pact has an investment arrangement under which firms from the Oceania country can bring raw materials or ingredients from the dairy sector into India, process them to make high-quality products and then re-export 100 per cent of those goods.
These dedicated fast-track arrangements will be used exclusively for the manufacture of products destined solely for export, thereby safeguarding the interests of the domestic industry.
New Zealand is one of the world's largest dairy exporters. Its dairy exports to India in FY25 totalled just USD 1.07 million, consisting of milk and cream (USD 0.40 million), natural honey (USD 0.32 million), mozzarella cheese (USD 0.18 million), butter (USD 0.09 million) and skimmed milk (USD 0.08 million).
Under the FTA, India would grant quota-based duty concessions on Albumins (a milk protein product) and bulk infant formula from New Zealand with Minimum Import Price and other safeguards.
Tariffs on bulk infant formula and other dairy-based preparations, and peptones (a dairy-based product) would be phased out by India in over seven years, according to New Zealand's Foreign Affairs and Trade ministry statement.
